Blood cancers are treated over extended timeframes, and most of that treatment now happens away from the hospital.
Leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, for example, are systemic diseases managed as long-term conditions over years or decades. Much of that treatment is taken at home, with limited clinical oversight between appointments. And while some patients take a tablet at home every day for years, others receive newer therapies where the most demanding days are still spent at home.
The support did not move with the treatment
Care teams have not stopped managing the risk: they do it with daily clinic visits, temperature instructions, caregiver requirements and rules about how far a patient may live from the clinic.
Guidance for newer blood cancer therapies asks patients to take their own temperature three times a day, for two days after every dose increase. ¹ Patients attend the clinic daily for the first week or more and must live within reach of the center with an adult caregiver present throughout. ²
Preparation, however, does not survive the move home. Families given structured education before and during a hospital stay describe meeting problems they had not anticipated once the patient was discharged. ³
Oral therapy asks less each day, but more over time, with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia being the clearest case. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors turned it from a lethal disease into one most patients live with, bringing life expectancy close to the general population, for those who respond. ⁴ This same shift moved responsibility for correct and consistent dosing to patients, who become responsible for taking that therapy daily over the following years. ⁵
The commercial case for pharma
Treatment that happens largely at home only produces its result if both patient and caregiver can follow it. In chronic myeloid leukemia, guidance directs clinicians to address adherence when response falls short, before switching drug. ⁵ A support failure can present as a therapy failure, which makes the quality of the support around a therapy a fundamental part of its success.
Payers have made the same point in this category directly: three of the seven cancer types in the Enhancing Oncology Model are blood cancers, and participating US practices must collect electronic patient-reported outcomes covering symptoms, functioning, behavioral health and health-related social needs at least once before every qualifying visit.⁶
However, digital support has been slowest to arrive where care is most intensive. In trials, digital technology is used least in acute-onset conditions, such as cytokine release syndrome and graft-versus-host disease, on the reasoning that they need immediate in-person care.⁷ Where care happens has changed, the support has not been adapted to follow it.
How Dawn Health’s Product Suite bridges the support gap
Dawn Health's live products span multiple therapeutic areas and account for more than 30 market launches, with pharma partners including Novartis and Merck. (dawnhealth.com/product-suite).
Although a hematologic-oncology-specific product is not available, the current product suite is designed for the following pattern of care:
- Educational content and support: what the care team explained once, available at the moment the patient needs it, and updated as treatment changes.
- Personalized reminders: the daily routine that years of oral therapy depend on, and the appointments that structure the first weeks after dosing.
- Symptoms and quality of life logging: patients keep a record of what they experience, so nothing rests on recall at the next appointment.
- Personal reports and consultation support: patients arrive with a structured history, which gives the care team a fuller picture than the appointment alone provides.
Dawn Health designs patient support solutions with a focus on the part of the treatment that happens at home.
References
- Crombie JL, Graff T, Falchi L, et al. Consensus recommendations on the management of toxicity associated with CD3×CD20 bispecific antibody therapy. Blood. 2024;143(16):1565-1575. doi:10.1182/blood.2023022432.
- Furqan F, Bhatlapenumarthi V, Dhakal B, et al. Outpatient administration of CAR T-cell therapies using a strategy of no remote monitoring and early CRS intervention. Blood Advances. 2024;8(16):4320-4329. doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2024013239.
- Gray TF, Revette AC, Nava-Coulter B, et al. Caregiver experiences managing information prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and after transition to home: a qualitative study. Supportive Care in Cancer. 2025;33(5):402. doi:10.1007/s00520-025-09445-2.
- Hochhaus A, Talpaz M, Saglio G, et al. From fatal disease to functional cure: 25 years of tyrosine kinase inhibition in chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2026;40(6):1092-1110. doi:10.1038/s41375-026-02984-5.
- Apperley JF, Milojkovic D, Cross NCP, et al. 2025 European LeukemiaNet recommendations for the management of chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2025;39(8):1797-1813. doi:10.1038/s41375-025-02664-w.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center. Enhancing Oncology Model: Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Guide, version 2.5, 22 May 2026. cms.gov.
- Mao X, Zeng D, Wang X, et al. Digital health technology use in clinical trials of rare diseases: a systematic review. Communications Medicine. 2025. doi:10.1038/s43856-025-01137-6.
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